Department for Transport

Bus Services: Franchises

lord porter of spalding: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to use the provisions in the Bus Services Act 2017to allow non-mayoral authorities to access bus franchising powers.

baroness sugg: The Bus Services Act received Royal Assent in April 2017. The Act provides automatic access to franchising powers to mayoral combined authorities. The criteria the Secretary of State will use to determine whether to grant consent to non-mayoral combined authorities will focus on whether the authority in question has clear and locally supported aspirations which will benefit passengers and a sensible plan in place, as well as the right capabilities to make franchising a success.

Railways: Electrification

lord truscott: To ask Her Majesty's Government when (1) Bath Spa, and (2) Bristol Temple Meads, railway stations will be directly served by a high-speed, electrified railway line.

baroness sugg: The new bi-mode Inter City Express Trains are already serving both destinations. Benefits to passengers include more frequent services operating on the line and up to 32% more seats. The planned enhancement project between Bristol Temple Meads and Bath Spa is subject to ongoing assessment and investment decisions.

Home Office

Immigration: Law

lord green of deddington: To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress has been made by the Law Commission in their work on the simplification of immigration legislation; and when it is envisaged that that project will be completed.

baroness williams of trafford: The Law Commission’s Thirteenth Programme of Law Reform (HC 640) was presented to Parliament on 13 December 2017. It confirms that the Law Commission will be undertaking a project on the simplification of the Immigration Rules and that the project is expected to be completed by December 2018.

Hunting

lord wasserman: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Gardiner of Kimble on 8 December (HL3602), whether local Police and Crime Commissioners have any role to play in the enforcement of the Hunting Act 2004; and if so, what is that role.

baroness williams of trafford: It is an operational decision for individual Chief Constables to determine how their resources are deployed and it is for locally elected Police and Crime Commissioners to hold their forces to account, including on how they tackle the crimes that matter most to residents and businesses in rural and urban areas alike.The election of Police and Crime Commissioners has given communities - including those in rural areas - a strong voice in determining how police resources are allocated to tackle the crimes that matter most to them.

Refugees: English Language

lord alton of liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress has been made in improving English language provision for refugees since the meeting between Home Office Ministers and Lord Alton of Liverpool on 21 November; and whether they have any plans to provide more fast track English language training to enable Syrian refugees, and other suitably qualified doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals, who are refugees, to take up work in the NHS.

lord alton of liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to change rules that impact the ability of refugees who are health professionals to access full time English language lessons while being in receipt of jobseeker's allowance.

baroness williams of trafford: As soon as adults are granted refugee status or humanitarian protection they become eligible for skills funding (including for ESOL courses) through the adult education budget.The Home Office also provides funding for English language as part of its commitment to resettling vulnerable people through the Vulnerable Persons Relocation Scheme to the UK. This funding includes a tariff for each person resettled, a proportion of which can be allocated to ESOL provision. For those resettled under these programmes, local authorities are now required to provide a minimum of eight hours’ formal tuition a week, within a month of arrival, and for a period of at least 12 months, or until the individual reaches at least English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) entry level three (whichever is the sooner).All NHS professions (including all doctors and nurses) have an English language requirement of IELTS 7. This is not a Home Office requirement but a requirement set by their regulatory bodies (for example General Medical Council). ESOL courses are available for free to those in receipt of jobseeker’s allowance.

Hate Crime: LGBT People

lord hunt of kings heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government what actions they are taking to reduce the rate of hate crime against the LGBT community.

baroness williams of trafford: This Government abhors all forms of hate crime, including hate crimes motivated by a victim’s actual or perceived sexual orientation or transgender identity. That is why we are taking a cross-Government approach to tackling the issues through the Hate Crime Action Plan published in July 2016. The Government will continue to deliver against the commitments under the action plan which includes recently announced funding for seven new community-led projects, one of which focuses specifically on tackling LGBT hate crime. The Home Secretary has also announced in October funding for the creation of a national online hate crime hub, improving the response to all forms of hate crime.

Electronic Surveillance

baroness jones of moulsecoomb: To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress has been made on establishing an independent agency to assess requests from authorised agencies for access to records of phone calls, emails, and text messages relating to investigations into serious crime.

baroness williams of trafford: On 30 November 2017, the Government launched a public consultation on proposed changes to Part 4 of the Investigatory Powers Act 2016, which includes the creation of a newly appointed body to be known as the Office for Communications Data Authorisations (OCDA).The consultation closes on 18 January 2018. Following the consultation, the Secretary of State will carefully consider any representations made in response, and what, if any, changes may be required to the draft Regulations and code of practice. The draft Regulations and code of practice will then be laid in Parliament for approval by both Houses before they can come into effect.The Government is working to establish OCDA with the Investigatory Powers Commissioner, who the body will report directly to, and the task of setting it up is significant. It involves the procurement of premises (including appropriate security arrangements), recruitment, vetting and training of new staff, and the development of the necessary IT systems and processes which will allow OCDA staff to electronically consider applications from over 600 public authorities.

Passports

lord marlesford: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many British passport holders have had their passports cancelled or withdrawn in the interests of national security in each of the last five years.

baroness williams of trafford: The Royal Prerogative can be used to refuse to issue or cancel a British passport on public interest grounds. These grounds can be used to disrupt individuals who seek to travel on a British passport to engage in, for example, fighting, extremist activity or terrorist training overseas and then return to the UK with enhanced capabilities.Under the public interest criteria in relation to national security, the Royal Prerogative was exercised• on 23 occasions in 2015;• on 24 occasions in 2014; and• on six occasions in 2013.We aim to publish figures on an annual basis, and we will publish information on the use of the power during 2016 and 2017 in 2018.

British Nationals Abroad: Islamic State

lord marlesford: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many individuals who went from Britain to Syria to join ISIS are known to have returned to date; and how many of these were (1) detained on arrival at the UK border, (2) allowed to return to the UK without any restriction on their movements, (3) are currently detained awaiting trial, (4) are on bail, and (5) are serving custodial sentences.

baroness williams of trafford: As confirmed in UIN 116493, approximately 400 UK-linked individuals of security concern have returned from the conflict in Syria. Due to operational sensitivity, we cannot provide a breakdown of how each case is being managed.The Home Office Statistical Bulletin publishes data about convictions quarterly but does not distinguish those which relate to Syria and Daesh. British Citizens who are investigated and charged with offences relating to the conflict in Syria and Iraq will be prosecuted in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors.Although official figures do not show how many were Syria or Daesh related, of the 97 persons charged with a terrorism-related offence in the year ending September 2017, 30 had been prosecuted (as at the time of data provision to the Home Office, 6 November 2017), 30 of which were found guilty. A further 65 were awaiting prosecution.

Passports

lord marlesford: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they collect details of any other passports held by applicants for British passports; and whether this information is retained and available to Border Force immigration officers.

baroness williams of trafford: Dual national passport information provided as part of a British passport application is not routinely recorded as part of the assessment. Dual national information is not held centrally but Border Force may in some circumstances request passport information to support individual case assessments which may include any information recorded on dual nationality.

Refugees: Children

baroness sheehan: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many children have been brought to the UK from Northern France and other parts of Europe under section 67 of the Immigration Act 2017.

baroness williams of trafford: In 2016, we transferred over 900 unaccompanied children to the UK from Europe, including more than 750 from France as part of the UK’s comprehensive support to the Calais camp clearance. On 30 November we published data on transfers of children from Calais:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/transfers-of-children-to-the-uk-from-the-calais-operation-november-2017220 of those transferred met the criteria under section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016. We are fully committed to delivering on our commitment to transfer the specified number of 480 children under section 67 and are working closely with Member States, as well as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and NGO partners to identify and transfer children to the UK in line with each individual Member State’s national lawsFurther transfers of eligible children under section 67 have taken place this year and transfers are ongoing.

Fraud

lord wasserman: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Ministerial Statement byBaroness Williams of Trafford on 11 December (HLWS325), what role Police and Crime Commissioners are expected to play in relation to their new approach to the threat of economic crime.

baroness williams of trafford: The economic crime reforms focus on greater cooperation across government, law enforcement, regulators and the private sector. PCCs will retain their responsibility for holding local forces to account in terms of their response to economic crime and will play an important role in improving cooperation between the local and national response.

Knives: Crime

lord wasserman: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byBaroness Williams of Trafford on 11 December (HL3775), which police forces in England and Wales took part in the week of action to tackle knife crime under Operation Sceptre.

baroness williams of trafford: The Government continues to encourage police forces to undertake a series of coordinated national weeks of action to tackle knife crime under Operation SceptreIn October 2016, twenty-one police forces took part in a week of coordinated activity under Operation Sceptre. A further major operation took place in July 2017, in which 32 forces participated. The full list of participating forces are as follows:October 2016Avon and Somerset Bedfordshire British Transport PoliceCambridgeshire City of London Cleveland Cumbria Essex Greater Manchester Police HertfordshireKent PoliceLancashire LeicestershireMerseyside Metropolitan Police Service NorfolkNorthamptonshire North WalesNorth Yorkshire South Wales West MidlandsJuly 2017Avon and Somerset Bedfordshire British Transport PoliceCambridgeshire City of London Police Cleveland Dorset Dyfed PowysEssexGloucestershire Greater Manchester Police HampshireHertfordshire KentLancashire Leicestershire Merseyside Metropolitan Police Service NorfolkNorth YorkshireNorthamptonshire Northumbria North Wales Nottinghamshire South WalesStaffordshire Suffolk Surrey Sussex Thames Valley Police West Midlands Wiltshire

Police: Unmanned Air Vehicles

lord wasserman: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byBaroness Williams of Trafford on 14 December (HL4020), whether they will now answer the question put, namely which police forces in England and Wales use drones for operational purposes.

baroness williams of trafford: The deployment of drones is an operational decision for the police.In a report published on 30 November HMICFRS reported that 28 police Forces had access to a drone. Information published by the Civil Aviation Authority shows that at present 19 Police Forces hold licenses to operate drones commercially.A number of police forces operate drones in collaboration with other forces or agencies. An example of this is Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service who provide drone services to Lancashire Constabulary.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

North Korea: Refugees

lord alton of liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to theWritten Answer byLord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 5 December (HL3335), what assessment they have made of the compliance of their decision not to raise the individual cases of the ten North Korean refugees awaiting repatriation by China to North Korea with the UK's treaty obligations to act in cases where it is aware of treaty violations in another state.

lord alton of liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 5 December (HL3335), whatassessment they have made ofthe moral and practical implications of their decision not to intervene to seek safe passage ofthe ten North Korean refugees awaiting repatriation by China to North Korea to the Republic of Korea or a third country.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: We remain concerned that China continues to regard North Koreans fleeing the DPRK as economic migrants rather than refugees under the 1951 UN Refugee Convention. The UK Government calls upon China to observe the fundamental principle that refugees should not be returned to a country where they may be subject to persecution. This is clearly the case in North Korea. We raised this issue most recently with China at the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue in June 2017.The UK Government has made clear on many occasions our serious concerns about the human rights situation in the DPRK and the regime's treatment of its people, particularly those who are repatriated. These are issues we have raised repeatedly both directly with the DPRK government and through our leading roles in multilateral organisations.We continue to work with allies and partners to maintain pressure on the DPRK to address the significant concerns we have about its human rights record, including the treatment of DPRK defectors. Most recently, the UK helped to advance an EU-Japan sponsored resolution at the United Nations Third Committee condemning the DPRK's appalling human rights situation and calling for immediate action.

Jerusalem

the marquess of lothian: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to ask the UN to declare East Jerusalem the capital of Palestine.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The Government has no such plans.

Israel: Embassies

the marquess of lothian: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to move the British Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The Government has no plans to move the British Embassy to Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Migration

the marquess of lothian: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the government of the United States' decision to withdraw from the process leading to a UN global compact on migration on its effectiveness in protecting the rights of refugees and migrants.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The UK – alongside partners – remains committed to the UN process to develop both a Global Compact on Migration and a Global Compact on Refugees. The decision by the United States to withdraw from the former does not alter the UK Government's commitment to engage fully and work towards the successful delivery of these compacts. We believe that the Global Compact on Migration should offer an effective international framework to ensure that migration is safe and orderly and that it should balance the rights and responsibilities of both states and migrants.

Iran: Weapons

the marquess of lothian: To ask Her Majesty's Government, following the Prime Minister’s speech in Jordan on 30 November, what action they intend to take to "strengthen [the Government’s] response to Iran’s ballistic missile programme and its proliferation of weapons".

lord ahmad of wimbledon: ​We have consistently made clear our concerns to Iran about its ballistic missile programme and the supply of weapons to neighbouring countries. We continue to raise our concerns under United National Security Council Resolutions 2231 and 2216, alongside our French, German, and US colleagues, and work with the relevant UN bodies to support the implementation of these resolutions. The UK Government condemned the Houthi missile attacks on Riyadh on 4 November and 19 December which deliberately targeted a civilian areas. The supply of ballistic missiles to the Houthis threatens regional security and prolonging the conflict. It is essential that the UN investigates this. In his visit to Iran on 9-10 December, the Foreign Secretary pressed his Iranian counterparts to use their influence to ensure that these indiscriminate and dangerous attacks come to an end.

Iran: BBC Persian Service

lord radice: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made over the last three months to (1) the Iranian Ambassador in London, and (2) the government of Iran, about the reported targeting and harassment of BBC Persian Service journalists and their families.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: Reports about harassment of BBC Persian staff and their families in Iran are deeply worrying. The Foreign Secretary specifically raised our concerns about harassment of BBC Persian staff and their families in Iran with his Iranian counterpart during his visit to Tehran on 9-10 December. Officials at the British Embassy in Tehran have also twice raised our concerns with the Iranian Government.

Cabinet Office

Acts

earl attlee: To ask Her Majesty's Government, since the State Opening of Parliament in 2010, how many (1) orders, and (2) regulations, have been made to commence either sections or complete Acts (a)less than 12 months, (b)between 12 and 24 months, (c)between 24 and 36 months, and (d) more than 36 months, after Royal Assent.

lord young of cookham: Commencement orders and regulations are available on the legislation.gov.uk website. The Government does not hold a central record detailing these commencement orders and regulations to enable the information requested to be provided.

Grenfell Tower Inquiry: Legal Costs

lord lea of crondall: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their estimate of the legal costs (1) incurred to date, and (2) likely to be incurred, in relation to the Grenfell Tower fire inquiry; and how much of those costs will be met by the public purse.

lord young of cookham: The Prime Minister has made clear that survivors, families of victims and local residents affected by the Grenfell Tower tragedy will have government funding for legal representation. The Prime Minister’s notice of determination to the Inquiry, published on 22 August confirms this. The Inquiry will publish details of legal costs in due course.

Personal Income

baroness lister of burtersett: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the Resolution Foundation Unequal Results; and whether they intend to review the treatment of top incomes in measurements of inequality.

lord young of cookham: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply and I will place a copy of their letter in the Library of the House.



UKSA Response 
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Department for International Development

Syria: Adam Smith International

lord alton of liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government how muchDepartment for International Developmentaid has been channelled through Adam Smith International in Syria to consultants outside Syria; and what assessment they have made of reports by BBC Panorama and The Times that those sums have been used to resource jihadists and Al Nusra, or have been lost through corruption.

lord bates: In 2017/2018, DFID funded two Adam Smith International (ASI) programmes under the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund – the Taallum initiative (which supported teaching and management staff to improve the delivery of education services), and the Assistance Coordination Unit (which conducted needs assessments and improved the coordination of aid in opposition-held areas in Syria). The total cost of these programmes was £1,167,613. This includes a mix of long and short term consultants both inside and outside Syria, of which, to ensure the security of staff, we cannot provide a breakdown. Given the seriousness of the allegations made by Panorama, which were also reported in the Times, the FCO suspended all ASI projects in Syria for contracts that it holds. Now having investigated these allegations, we are clear that the UK Government has not been involved in any wrongdoing. The allegations made by Panorama were either untrue or unfounded, misleading, or refer to incidents that we were aware of but took appropriate action on at the time.

Department for Education

Care Leavers

baroness eaton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what funding will be available to local authorities to extend personal adviser support to care leavers aged 21 to 25, as provided for in section 3 of the Children and Social Work Act 2017.

baroness eaton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what funding will be available to local authorities to extend virtual school head support to previously looked after children, as outlined in sections 4 to 7 of the Children and Social Work Act 2017.

lord agnew of oulton: We initially assessed that the new burden associated with the new duty in section 3 would be £8 million per year nationally, once the new duty is fully implemented. We have since refined that initial assessment in light of consultations held with local council leaving care managers and new data published in September 2017, and are currently consulting the Local Government Association and the Association of Directors of Children’s Services before agreeing it with the Department for Communities and Local Government’s new burdens team. We plan to publish the final new burdens assessment and confirm each local council’s funding allocation in the New Year. The new burden associated with the support provided in sections 4 to 7 was estimated at between £30,000 and £50,000 per local council. The new burdens assessment explains that savings from reforms to adoption, including regionalisation of adoption, will offset this new burden. Average timeliness in adoption has improved by around six months since 2012-13, offering savings to local councils from the decreased cost of care. These can be reinvested to extend Virtual School Head support to previously looked after children. To date, we have launched six Regional Adoption Agencies.

English Language: Education

lord hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they plan to take to eliminate long waiting periods before refugees needing tuition in English can enter English for Speakers of Other Languages courses; and if funding is an obstacle, whether they will bring this to the attention of the lottery managers.

lord agnew of oulton: The government recognises that it is important for refugees to have timely access to English for Speaker of Other Languages (ESOL) courses. In 2016/17, ESOL provision increased with the department providing full or partial funding for 114,400 adult learners to improve their levels of English – up from 110,600 adult learners in 2015/16.The Adult Education Budget (AEB) provides flexibility to enable providers experiencing waiting lists, including to deliver additional ESOL courses, to increase the size of their ESOL delivery to help meet local demand. In addition, providers can request AEB growth funding from the Education and Skills Funding Agency. The scope and timeline for growth opportunities are outlined in the AEB Funding and Performance management rules.Additional funding is also available for refugees who come to the UK as part of the Vulnerable People’s Resettlement Scheme. All local councils resettling Syrian families are required to ensure that refugees are able to access ESOL provision within a month of arrival.The forthcoming integration strategy will set out how we will support people in more isolated communities to engage with the wider world, help women into the workplace, and teach more people to speak English.With regards to National Lottery funding, this is distributed by independent distribution bodies. Their decisions are based on the published criteria of each of their different Lottery funding programmes and are made independently of government.

Church Schools: Admissions

lord patten: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of places available at Catholic schools for Catholic children.

lord agnew of oulton: The department does not collect data on the number of places available at Catholic schools for Catholic children.

Church Schools: Admissions

lord patten: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their estimate of the number of Muslim children being educated in Catholic faith schools.

lord agnew of oulton: The department does not hold information on the religion of pupils attending schools in England.

Vocational Education

lord storey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to ensure that all schools are aware of their responsibility under the Technical and Further Education Act 2017 to allow access into schools to education and training providers in order to talk to pupils in Years 8 to 13 about approved technical qualifications and apprenticeships; and when theyexpect Ofsted to start measuring schools' performance againstthat requirement.

lord agnew of oulton: Section 2 of The Technical and Further Education Act 2017, attached, will come into force on 2 January 2018. This will require all maintained schools and academies to ensure that there is an opportunity for a range of education and training providers to access pupils in year 8 to year 13 for the purpose of informing them of approved technical education qualifications or apprenticeships. Schools must prepare and publish a policy statement setting out the circumstances in which education and training providers will be given access to pupils, and to ensure that this is followed.The department has been communicating with schools during the autumn term to explain how to comply with the new law and allow them sufficient time to prepare for its commencement. The department has published information on its website and communicated directly with school governors, head teachers and careers leaders through a range of channels. We will shortly be writing to all schools in England to inform them of the new careers strategy, published on 4 December, and we will take this opportunity to remind them of their new legal requirement.The department has worked with schools and representatives from colleges, apprenticeship providers and university technical colleges to develop new statutory guidance for schools on access to education and training providers. We intend to publish this on 2 January 2018 to coincide with the new duty coming into force.Ofsted will take account of this statutory guidance when developing its approach to assessing careers provision. Matters relating to careers provision contribute to judgements under three of the four areas evaluated as part of school inspections. Where, during the course of a school inspection, it becomes clear that statutory requirements are not being met, and this is a contributory factor in explaining why pupils are not achieving as expected, it will be considered for inclusion in the inspection report as a key point for improvement.



Technical and Further Education Act 2017
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Special Educational Needs

lord ouseley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the measures and resources required to enable local authorities to provide education, health and care plans for all children with special educational needs who, without such plans, could be at risk of being effectively excluded from education provision.

lord agnew of oulton: Under the Children and Families Act 2014, local councils are required to conduct statutory education, health and care (EHC) needs assessments. These determine whether children and young people in their area have special educational needs which require additional support or provision. Where a local council deems that a statutory EHC plan should be issued, it is responsible for securing the special educational provision specified in the plan. If a maintained school, academy, non-maintained special school, general further education college or an independent provider on the section 41 approved list is named in an EHC plan, the institution must admit the child or young person. The department has provided local councils with £252 million between 2014-15 and 2017-18. This supports local councils to embed the special educational needs and disability reforms, as set out in the Children and Families Act 2014.

Open University

lord willis of knaresborough: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure the future sustainability of the Open University.

viscount younger of leckie: Higher education institutions are autonomous bodies. The government and the Higher Education Funding Council England (HEFCE) monitor the financial sustainability of the higher education sector. HEFCE monitors the financial sustainability of individual providers in receipt of public funding, including The Open University. However, a provider’s business model and financial plans are a matter for the governing body of that institution. The Office for Students will replace HEFCE and will have a duty to monitor and report on the financial sustainability of higher education providers that receive grant funding, or provide courses that are designated for student support, once the relevant provisions of the Higher Education and Research Act 2017 are brought into force. The government is taking steps to help people who want to study part-time, enabling individuals to gain new skills and advance their careers, and supporting the wider economy. Part-time study and distance learning are clearly central to The Open University’s business model. We introduced tuition fee loans for eligible part-time students in 2012/13. We are working towards launching a new maintenance loan for part-time students studying, in attendance, on degree level courses in 2018/19. The government is considering extending this maintenance loan to eligible students studying distance learning courses part-time, more generally in 2019/20. This will be subject to the development of a robust control regime to manage the particular risks and challenges associated with this mode of study.

Ministry of Justice

Sentencing

baroness gould of potternewton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the process for determining an individual’s sentence following conviction by the courts.

baroness gould of potternewton: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they monitor and analyse sentences issued for the same or similar offences in order to identify any disparities.

lord keen of elie: It is for the courts to decide the appropriate sentence within the maximum penalty set by Parliament, taking into account the law, any relevant sentencing guidelines and the facts of the individual case. The Ministry of Justice publish sentencing statistics on a regular basis. As sentencing is entirely a matter for the Judiciary, who are independent, the Ministry of Justice would not comment on perceived disparities between sentences in individual cases.

Ministry of Defence

Military Decorations

lord porter of spalding: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 14 November (HL2735), what was (1) the service, and (2) the rank, of each of the 113 Service personnel granted honours in the military division of Her Majesty The Queen's Birthday Honours List for 2017.

earl howe: The Military Division of The Queen’s Birthday Honours list 2017 Royal Navy Awards PROMOTIONS IN AND APPOINTMENTS TO THE MILITARY DIVISION OF THE MOST HONOURABLE ORDER OF THE BATH As Knight Commander: Vice Admiral Simon Robert LISTER, CB, OBE As Companions: Surgeon Vice Admiral Alasdair James WALKER, OBE, QHSRear Admiral Simon Paul WILLIAMS, CVO PROMOTIONS IN AND APPOINTMENTS TO THE MILITARY DIVISION OF THE MOST EXCELLENT ORDER OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE As Commanders: Rear Admiral Timothy Miles LOWE, QCVSRear Admiral John Robert Hamilton CLINK, OBEBrigadier Richard Anthony Winchcombe SPENCER, OBE As Officers Commodore Richard Mark ALLENCaptain Mark John CAMERONColonel Michael John TANNER, QCVSCommander James WYPER As Members: Warrant Officer 1 Logistician (Catering Services) Wayne BURBURYLieutenant Commander Simon James CHURCHWarrant Officer 1 Engineering Technician (Marine Engineering) Iain CUNNINGHAMChief Petty Officer Air Engineering Technican (Avionics) Andrew Smyth FLEMINGLieutenant Deborah Daphne HARMERLeading Logistician (Writer) Claire HUGHESLieutenant Commander (Acting Commander) James Alistair Delange KIRKWOODCommander Robert Graeme SPENCECommander Stephen Michael THOMASCommander Michael Leslie WOOD QUEEN’S VOLUNTEER RESERVE MEDAL Sergeant David HOLMAN Army Awards PROMOTIONS IN AND APPOINTMENTS TO THE MILITARY DIVISION OF THE MOST HONOURABLE ORDER OF THE BATH As Companions: Major General Mark Jarvis GAUNTMajor General John Robert PATTERSON PROMOTIONS IN AND APPOINTMENTS TO THE MILITARY DIVISION OF THE MOST EXCELLENT ORDER OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE As Commanders: Colonel Michael Robert BUTTERWICKColonel William Pemble Owen ENGLISHBrigadier Colin Thomas McCLEAN, MBEBrigadier Tom Richardson COPINGER-SYMES, OBEMajor General Ralph William WOODDISSE, MBE, MC As Officers: Lieutenant Colonel Hamish George Gordon CORMACK, MBE, The Duke of Lancaster’s RegimentLieutenant Colonel Christopher David DAVIES, MBE, The Princess of Wales’s Royal RegimentLieutenant Colonel Jamie Ian HARTLEY, The RiflesColonel Thomas Jonathan MURRAYColonel Andrew Keith ROBINSONColonel Christopher John Strathern ROSEColonel Khashayar Dominic SHARIFILieutenant Colonel Jason SHEFFIELD, Royal Tank RegimentColonel Jonathan Roderick Henry TIMMISActing Colonel Richard George WALKER, Corps of Royal Engineers As Members: Major Levi Vincent ASHLEY, The Royal Logistic CorpsMajor John Mark BARRY, The RiflesMajor Richard Allan BELL, Royal Corps of SignalsMajor Denis BURTON, The Royal Welsh, Army ReserveMajor Kevin Charles CAMMACK, Royal Regiment of ArtilleryMajor David CAMPEY, Corps of Royal EngineersColonel Frances Elizabeth CASTLE, ADCSergeant Arun Lewis COFAX, Corps of Royal EngineersLieutenant Colonel Dominic Martin Lyall COOPER, The Royal Logistic CorpsMajor Richard John CRANE, The Royal Logistic CorpsCaptain Anthony Angelo DAVIES, Corps of Royal EngineersWarrant Officer Class 2 Marc David ELLIOTT, Corps of Royal EngineersWarrant Officer Class 1 Gavin Arran EMMERSON, The Royal Logistic CorpsMajor Simon William EVERETT, The Royal Irish RegimentLieutenant Colonel Alison Helen FALCON, The Royal Logistic Corps, Army ReserveLieutenant Colonel Nicholas Mark GEE, Royal Regiment of ArtilleryMajor Prembahadur GURUNG, The Royal Gurkha RiflesCaptain Andrew HAINES, Royal Regiment of Artillery, Army ReserveActing Major Tobias Robin Sanford HARRIS, The Parachute RegimentSergeant Andrew Craig HARRISON, Corps of Royal EngineersMajor William Derek HODGKINSON, The King’s Royal HussarsCorporal Amber Rose HOLLANDS, Royal Army Medical CorpsColonel Stephanie Lotte Eleanor Louise JACKMAN, TD, Army Reserve, The Royal Logistic CorpsActing Lieutenant Colonel Ami JONES, Royal Army Medical Corps, Army ReserveActing Lieutenant Colonel Norman Owen JONES, ARRC, Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps, Army ReserveMajor Pauline MURRAY-KNIGHT, Adjutant General’s Corps (Staff and Personnel Support Branch)Acting Lieutenant Colonel Anthony Thomas LAMB, Combined Cadet ForceLieutenant Colonel Catherine Charlotte Anne LIVINGSTONE, Royal Army Medical Corps, Army ReserveMajor Paul LOGIE, Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical EngineersCaptain James William LYONS, Army Air CorpsMajor David Robert MACKLIN, The RiflesWarrant Officer Class 1 Iain Crichton MARTIN, The Royal Logistic CorpsWarrant Officer Class 2 Rolf Alan MASON, Royal Regiment of ArtilleryCorporal Jessica Layla MASTERMAN, The Royal Logistic CorpsLance Corporal Rossa Dominick McPHILLIPS, Intelligence Corps, Army ReserveColour Sergeant David Malcolm MILLS, Irish GuardsCaptain Ian David STOKES, Royal Regiment of ArtilleryWarrant Officer Class 2 Karen Ann STYLES, Adjutant General’s Corps (Staff and Personnel Support Branch)Major Fergus Keegan SULLIVAN, Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical EngineersMajor William John TOWER, Coldstream GuardsActing Major Richard Simon WOOD, The Parachute RegimentLieutenant Colonel Nicholas Robert Edward WOOLGAR, The Royal Lancers ROYAL RED CROSS As an Ordinary Associate of the Royal Red Cross, Second Class: Major Jennifer Ann BUCK, Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing CorpsMajor Rosemary GODFREY, Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps, Army Reserve QUEEN’S VOLUNTEER RESERVES MEDAL Major Paul Harry JACKSON, General List, Army ReserveStaff Sergeant Hayley Elizabeth JUST, Corps of Royal Engineers, Army ReserveColonel Mark Christopher SHERIDANStaff Sergeant Careen Gillian THORN, The Royal Logistic Corps, Army Reserve Royal Air Force Awards PROMOTIONS IN AND APPOINTMENTS TO THE MILITARY DIVISION OF THE MOST HONOURABLE ORDER OF THE BATH As Companions: Air Vice-Marshal Malcolm Andrew John BRECHT, CBEAir Vice-Marshal Edward Jackson STRINGER, CBE PROMOTIONS IN AND APPOINTMENTS TO THE MILITARY DIVISIONOF THE MOST EXCELLENT ORDER OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE As Commanders: Group Captain Stephen Alec BENTLEYAir Commodore Dawn Allison MCCAFFERTY As Officers: Wing Commander Gareth John BRYANTWing Commander Mark Thomas DUNLOPWing Commander James Alexander FREEBOROUGHWing Commander Andrew MASSIEWing Commander Elizabeth Joan NICHOLLWing Commander Michael John Edward SUTTON As Members: Warrant Officer Anthony Joseph BARKERSquadron Leader Darren BASSETTWarrant Officer Alan Roy BUTTERFILLWing Commander Davis Charles COX, Royal Air Force Volunteer ReserveFlight Sergeant Mark James ELLIMANSergeant Alan Albert FENNEYSergeant Matthew Ian FOSTERSquadron Leader Adrian MORRISWarrant Officer Michael George MORRISSquadron Leader Hugh John Warr NICHOLSFlight Lieutenant Derek Vincent OLDHAM, Royal Auxiliary Air ForceWarrant Officer Adrian Mark PATONWarrant Officer Michelle SMITH ROYAL RED CROSSAs an Ordinary Associate of the Royal Red Cross, Second ClassCorporal Clare Louise HARVEYFlight Lieutenant Laura Jane HODSON QUEEN’S VOLUNTEER RESERVES MEDAL Sergeant Philip Baden BOWER, Royal Auxiliary Air ForceSenior Aircraftman Shane Victor STANIFORTH, Royal Auxiliary Air Force

Armed Forces: Learning Disability

lord browne of belmont: To ask Her Majesty's Government what procedures are in place for members of the armed forces who present with learning difficulties.

earl howe: Defence recognises four Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLD), comprising dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia and scotopic sensitivity syndrome.Individuals affected by SpLD are eligible for specific support which may include reasonable adjustments to training and working environments. SpLD is recognised as being an issue that is principally and proactively managed by the individual, supported where necessary by their Chain of Command and not a condition which should draw undue attention, impractical or unmanageable special measures or stigma.Defence direction on SpLD is accessible at unit level through Joint Service Publication (JSP) 822 'Defence direction and guidance for training and education' (part 1, section 6.1 refers). In addition, the single Services have trained SpLD advisors who can offer advice, guidance and a range of strategies to help individuals get the support they need.

Department for Work and Pensions

Children: Poverty

lord ouseley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the implications for future advances in social mobility of the finding by the Institute for Fiscal Studies that almost 37 per cent of children will fall below the relative poverty line by 2021.

baroness buscombe: Employment is key to helping people out of poverty and to make a real and lasting change to the lives of disadvantaged families and children. Our welfare and tax reforms are designed to incentivise employment and to support people to progress in work. Employment is now at near-record levels and the number of children living in a family where no one is working is 608,000 lower than it was in 2010. Improving Lives: Helping Workless Families, published on 4 April, set out a framework for a continued focus on improving children’s outcomes, now and in the future. The Department does not forecast estimates of low income, but the next HBAI publication for 2016/17 data has been pre-announced and will be published by the end of March 2018. The government is committed to continue to publish this series on an annual basis.

Television: Licensing

lord lipsey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the saving in public expenditure resulting from the transfer of the cost of providing free TV licences for those aged 75 and over to the BBC.

baroness buscombe: As announced at the Summer Budget 2015, the funding of the free TV licence for those aged 75 and over will transfer to the BBC from 2020. Currently the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is responsible for reimbursing the BBC for free TV licences for those aged 75 and over. At the time of the Summer Budget 2015, the Office for Budget Responsibility estimated the exchequer impact to be: 2018/192019/202020/21+ £200m+ £445m+ £745m There will also be an additional saving of £1m from 2020/21 onwards relating an administration fee payable by DWP to the BBC.

Universal Credit

baroness lister of burtersett: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, when a Universal Credit claimant has an alternative payment arrangement in place by which the housing element is paid directly to their landlord, the 63 per cent taper on any applicable earnings is applied to (1) both the housing and other elements, (2) the housing element alone, or (3) only the other elements.

baroness buscombe: Whilst there are elements in the calculation there is only one payment of Universal Credit. This is important because it allows one taper rate to be applied to any earnings and thus means that work always pays and taking more work will always pay. It is for this reason, that attempts to pay portions of entitlement direct could damage work incentives and add complexity. As a consequence, there are no special rules for elements. Universal Credit is one payment and treated as such.

Universal Credit

baroness lister of burtersett: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect to publish the updated Universal Support framework as set out in the Ministerial Foreword to Universal Credit: Local Support Services Update and Trialling Plan, published in December 2013.

baroness lister of burtersett: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to commission research into the effectiveness of Universal Support in meeting the support needs of Universal Credit claimants.

baroness lister of burtersett: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much money has been provided to local authorities to support Universal Credit claimants for each year since the introduction of (1) Local Support Services, and (2) Universal Support.

baroness buscombe: ‘Local Support Services’ and ‘Universal Support’ are the same. We started referring to the service as Universal Support in 2014/15. We published the Local Support Services Framework on 11 February 2013. The evidence from the Universal Support trials around joint working to support the needs of our disadvantaged customers informed the DWP Improving Lives policy paper (April 2017). There are no current plans to commission research in to the effectiveness of Universal Support but as announced by Secretary of State on 23 November 2017, we are exploring the scope for greater collaborative working with Citizens Advice and Citizens Advice Scotland to help claimants locally as they move to Universal Credit, within the Universal Support framework approach. Annual funding provided to Universal Credit for delivery of Universal Support is: • 2013/14 - £1.3m• 2014/15 - £8.4m• 2015/16 - £15.4m• 2016/17 - £13.1m• 2017/18 - £21.5m

Social Security Benefits: NHS

lord brooke of alverthorpe: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to provide facilities for those in receipt of (1) the Winter Fuel Allowance, and (2) the Christmas bonus, to convert such payments into charitable donations to NHS hospital charities.

baroness buscombe: Recipients of Winter Fuel Payments and Christmas Bonuses are free to decide how to spend them. I am aware that a number of charities ask for customers to donate their payments to assist others and if a customer wishes to make such a donation they are free to do so. In most cases the Christmas Bonus and Winter Fuel Payment are paid automatically with whichever qualifying benefit an individual receives, which ensures administration costs are kept to a minimum. Introducing a process that would allow customers to convert either the Winter Fuel Payment or Christmas bonus into a charitable donation would introduce complexity and cost into the system.

State Retirement Pensions: British Nationals Abroad

lord teverson: To ask Her Majesty's Government what decisions they will take on the post-Brexit indexing of UK pensions paid to UK citizens resident in the EU, following their interim agreement with the EU on citizens' rights.

baroness buscombe: We have now reached agreement with the EU to maintain State Pension up-rating for those covered by the Withdrawal Agreement. For UK State Pension recipients living in the EU on the specified date this includes those who are already receiving their UK State Pension as well as future UK State Pension recipients. We will wish to discuss State Pension up-rating for individuals not covered by the Withdrawal Agreement in future talks.

European Agency for Safety and Health at Work

lord whitty: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have for future relationships post-Brexit between (1) UK public agencies, and (2) UK industry, and the European Agency for Health and Safety at Work.

baroness buscombe: No decisions have yet been made on our future relationship with the EU's agencies and bodies after leaving the EU. We are seeking a deep and special partnership with the European Union. Our relationship with the European Union's agencies and bodies, including the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, will be evaluated on this basis upon exit.

Social Security Benefits: Christmas

baroness thomas of winchester: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that no benefit claimants are left destitute over Christmas and the New Year.

baroness buscombe: The Department will advance the timing of payments for people affected by bank holidays as follows: When your payment is dueWhen you’ll be paidBetween Friday 22 December 2017 and Tuesday 26 December 2017Friday 22 December 2017Wednesday 27 December 2017Wednesday 27 December 2017Thursday 28 December 2017Thursday 28 December 2017Between Friday 29 December 2017 and Monday 1 January 2018Friday 29 December 2017 This information is available at https://www.gov.uk/universal-credit/how-youre-paid The Christmas payment dates for all other benefits are provided below. When your payment is dueWhen you’ll be paidBetween Friday 22 December 2017 and Wednesday 27 December 2017Friday 22 December 2017Thursday 28 December 2017Thursday 28 December 2017Friday 29 December 2017 to Monday 1 January 2018Friday 29 December 2017Tuesday 2 January 2018 (Scotland only)Friday 29 December 2017 This information is available at https://www.gov.uk/how-to-have-your-benefits-paid

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Plastics: Waste Disposal

lord hunt of chesterton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the extent to which the amount of plastic waste being collected by local authorities is sufficient to prevent that waste degrading the environment; and which government agencies are (1) monitoring the current situation, and (2) planning for the future, in this regard.

lord gardiner of kimble: The Environmental Protection Act 1990 requires local authorities to make provisions for the collection and disposal of household waste, including arrangements for the collection of plastics where appropriate. The Government and the Environment Agency with support from the Waste and Resources Action Programme work with local authorities to monitor the effectiveness of these services and to promote comprehensive collection and recycling of waste, including plastics. The Government wants to reduce the harm plastics pollution has on the environment and in 2018 will publish a resources and waste strategy which will set out actions in this area, including how we will work towards zero avoidable waste by 2050.

Department for Communities and Local Government

National Trust: Tenants

lord patten: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 29 November (HL3286), what discussions they have had with the Charity Commission about their legal resources and ability to quickly address issues raised by tenants of the National Trust.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: The Department for Communities and Local Government has not had any conversations with the Charity Commission regarding their resources.Tenants of National Trust properties can refer concerns to the Charity Commission, who are the independent regulator of charities, where they consider there to be a breach of charity law.

HM Treasury

Government Departments: Brexit

baroness wheatcroft: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether (1) the number, and (2) the cost, of (a) those directly employed by government departments, and (b) those hired as consultants by government departments, to work on matters related to Brexit, has increased since the Brexit referendum; and if so, by how much.

lord bates: Whilst HM Treasury has oversight of all policies with spending implications, we do not collate information on recruitment numbers or individual costs, including recruitment and consultancy costs, incurred ahead of EU Exit. Where spend is not novel, contentious or repercussive, and is not above delegated limits, departments have autonomy to incur expenditure without seeking formal HM Treasury clearance.

Customs: Republic of Ireland

lord greaves: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, under the proposals in the Joint report on progress during phase 1 of negotiations under Article 50 TEU on the UK's orderly withdrawal from the EU, the customs arrangements will be the same for goods and services transported in either direction between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland (1) across the Irish land border, (2) by sea, (3) by air, and (4) electronically.

lord greaves: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, under the proposals in the Joint reporton progress during phase 1 of negotiations under Article 50 TEU on the UK's orderly withdrawal from the EU,the customs arrangements will be the same for goods transportedin either direction between the Republic of Ireland andthe UK (1) directly between the Republic of Ireland and Great Britain, and (2) via Northern Ireland.

lord bates: The nature of customs arrangements following the UK’s departure from the EU will be subject to negotiations. The Joint Report between the EU and the UK announced on 8 December 2017 set out both sides’ determination to avoid a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland. Northern Ireland’s position within the single market of the United Kingdom will be fully protected.

Child Benefit

baroness lister of burtersett: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they take to ensure that a mother who has left a domestic violence situation has access to child benefit for any children living with her in cases where the father was previously the child benefit recipient.

lord bates: A mother in such a position can make a claim to receive Child Benefit in respect of any children living with her. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has a dedicated team that prioritises any claims in this area and will decide on any issues of child responsibility. HMRC encourages mothers in this situation to make a claim as early as possible.

Personal Income

baroness lister of burtersett: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their response to the cumulative impact assessment of tax, social security and public spending changes between 2010 and 2017 published in November by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

lord bates: The government is committed to building an economy that works for everyone and supporting people with protected characteristics. For example, we have increased the personal allowance and the National Living Wage; by 2018-19, over 700,000 women will be taken out of income tax altogether, and over 60% of those currently benefitting from the National Living Wage are women. The female employment rate is at a joint record high, and the gender pay gap for full-time employees is at a record low. The government is also spending over £50bn per year on benefits to support disabled people and people with health conditions.The EHRC analysis ignores the benefits of a strong economy to reducing inequalities, and ignores the benefit of public services like the NHS and social care. It also makes assumptions about income sharing within households, which are poorly evidenced, and may not reflect reality.

Department for Exiting the European Union

Brexit

lord stoddart of swindon: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether there are any circumstances in which they would consider withdrawing from the EU Treaties before 29 March 2019.

lord callanan: The Government will not speculate on hypothetical scenarios. On 29 March 2017, the Prime Minister triggered Article 50, which provides up to two years to ensure an orderly exit. We are using this time to secure an ambitious, wide ranging deal that benefits both the UK and Europe, spanning a future economic partnership, and future security partnership. We are delivering on the result of the referendum and the UK will leave the EU in March 2019.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Data Protection: Parish Councils

baroness scott of needham market: To ask Her Majesty's Government what support and assistance they are providing to parish and town councils and parish meetings to help them get ready for, and mitigate the financial impact on taxpayers of, the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in May 2018; whether they have undertaken an impact assessment on the application of the Data Protection Bill and GDPR on parish and town councils and parish meetings; if so, whether that assessment has been published; and what discussions they have held with the National Association of Local Councils concerning the impact of the Data Protection Bill and GDPR on parish and town councils.

lord ashton of hyde: The Government and the Information Commissioner recognise the challenges facing organisations across the UK in their preparations for the Data Protection Bill and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). There are already resources on the Commissioner's website (ico.org.uk) to help organisations employing fewer than 250 people, including parish councils, prepare. The Commissioner has launched a dedicated helpline service for smaller organisations and has updated its 'SME toolkit' to reflect the requirements of the GDPR. The Commissioner will also be simplifying her "12-step" GDPR preparation guidance in response to feedback from small and micro-enterprises and will continue to develop further guidance on both the Bill and GDPR. Parish Councils, like other data controllers, are currently required to adhere to the Data Protection Act 1998. Although the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) does change the requirements on data controllers, the Government's view is that the step up to these new standards will not be a disproportionate burden. Officials have held discussions with the National Association of Local Councils.

Hotels and Restaurants: Vacancies

lord roberts of llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have held with representatives of the hotel and restaurant industries concerning possible staff shortages leading up to, and following, Brexit; and what support they are giving to those industries to help them train and recruit new staff.

lord ashton of hyde: The Government has been working with the hospitality sector across the country to understand the challenges and opportunities presented by the UK’s exit from the EU. At the recent Tourism Industry Council Professor Alan Manning, Chair of the Migration Advisory Committee, heard the sector’s views on the contribution of international employees and what the sector’s priorities are for the future immigration system. The sector has also agreed a proposal for a tourism sector deal which has a strong focus on developing domestic skills to meet employer demand and improving the attractiveness of the sector as a career path. The government wants businesses to benefit from the right skills, which is why we are working with employers to invest in training such as apprenticeships and high-quality technical education. Catering and Hospitality is one of the 15 technical routes.

Department of Health

Human Papillomavirus: Vaccination

the countess of mar: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord O'Shaughnessyon 5 December (HL3500), whether they will place a copy of the systematic review of serious adverse reactions following HPV vaccines, commissioned by the World Health Organisation, in the Library of the House.

lord o'shaughnessy: The Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety (GACVS) provides independent, authoritative, scientific advice to the World Health Organization (WHO) on vaccine safety issues. The GACVS public summary report dated 14 July 2017 states that it was presented with a draft of a systematic review of serious adverse events following human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines that had been commissioned by WHO and summarises its findings. This found no difference in rates of selected serious adverse events between those exposed and unexposed to HPV vaccine. A copy of the systematic review, Serious adverse events associated with HPV vaccination, is attached.



Serious adverse events associated with HPV
(PDF Document, 2.31 MB)

Flour: Folic Acid

lord balfe: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the feasibility of introducing mandatory fortification of flour with folic acid, following recommendations from the Food Standards Agency and the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition to do so.

lord balfe: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that the fortification of flour with folic acid could have prevented approximately 2,000 cases of serious neural tube birth defects in the UK since 1998.

lord balfe: To ask Her Majesty's Government following the joint letter from the Scottish Government’s Minister for Public Health and Sport and the Welsh Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Services to the Secretary of State for Health on 1 December, whether they have any plans to introduce mandatory fortification of flour with folic acid on a UK-wide basis to help reduce neural tube defects in unborn babies.

lord o'shaughnessy: The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) recently updated the evidence on folic acid in response to a request from Food Standards Scotland and reiterated its support for mandatory folic acid fortification of United Kingdom flour, provided that this is introduced alongside restrictions on voluntary fortification of foods with folic acid. Ministers are currently considering SACN’s recommendations on mandatory fortification. Neural tube defects (NTDs) are a serious issue. To help those who may have inadequate folate levels through their diet, the Department provides general advice and health education messages in a range of settings targeted at women of childbearing age to encourage the use of folic acid supplements both pre- and post-conception. Information is also available online via NHS Choices including advice on seeing a healthcare professional as early in pregnancy as possible and that women should take 400 micrograms of folic acid every day prior to conception, and in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, to help prevent NTDs.

Dental Services: Fees and Charges

lord colwyn: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much revenue was raised from patient charges for NHS dental services in each of the last ten years for which figures are available.

lord o'shaughnessy: The table below shows the revenue raised from patient charges for National Health Service dental services in each of the last ten years. YearPatient charge (£ million)2006/07£4752007/08£5312008/09£5722009/10£5982010/11£6142011/12£6352012/13£6582013/14£6852014/15£7142015/16£7392016/17£783 Source: NHS Dental Statistics for England Notes:- Data on patient charge revenue are based on the amount calculated as recoverable from the contract payment based on the activity scheduled and patient charges recorded on the FP 17. It may not correspond exactly to the charge income reported in financial accounts for a number of reasons, including the fact that an estimate of charge income collected may have to be incorporated in the final phase of the financial year because accounts have to be prepared before the activity data for the full year becomes available.- No account is taken in this report of refunds for patients who pay for their treatment and prove at a later date that they should not have paid charges, or penalties imposed on those who should have paid but did not.- The patient charge total actually recovered into NHS funds during the year may also differ from the calculated amount, because of time-lags inherent in retrospectively deducting charges from monthly payments to dental contractors.- 2006/07 data excludes revenue from Courses of Treatment (CoTs) which began before 1 April 2006 but were completed in 2006/07 due to the transition to the new contract system.- The amount raised is dependent on the volume of banded COTs delivered and the charge for each banded COT levied.

Dental Services: Fees and Charges

lord colwyn: To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the total number of fines issued for incorrectly claiming an exemption on NHS dental fees in each of the last ten years for which figures are available.

lord o'shaughnessy: The following table shows the total number of fines issued for incorrectly claiming an exemption from National Health Service dental charges in each of the last ten years. Financial Year (April - March)Total number of fines2007-081,9752008-093,3942009-104,1192010-117,0652011-128,3922012-1333,8872013-1457,0312014-15196,1542015-16192,0872016-17365,181 Source: NHS Business Services Authority Note: During the period covered in the table above, both the scope and volume of checking has increased significantly.

Pharmacy

lord kennedy of southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessmentthey have made of the Pharmacists' Defence Association’s "Safer Pharmacies Charter".

lord o'shaughnessy: Legislation requires the safe and effective working of pharmacies. The General Pharmaceutical Council and Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland set out standards and core requirements for registered pharmacy professionals and registered pharmacies to achieve this. The standards cover a range of issues to ensure safe and effective care. Key themes emphasised in the standards include person-centred care, demonstrating leadership, greater accountability on the part of pharmacy professionals and ensuring that there are enough staff, suitably qualified and skilled. The Pharmacists' Defence Association’s Safer Pharmacies Charter closely aligns with the requirements in these standards.

Colorectal Cancer: Screening

baroness redfern: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to offer screening for bowel cancer to all over 45s.

lord o'shaughnessy: Following Ministerial approval of the United Kingdom National Screening Committee’s (UK NSC) recommendation to introduce Faecal Immunochemical Testing as the primary screen test in the National Health Service Bowel Cancer Screening Programme, the UK NSC commissioned the Sheffield School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR) to use existing evidence and modelling techniques to describe options for optimising bowel cancer screening. This includes different cut off levels for the test and various age ranges. The UK NSC will continue to work with ScHARR and stakeholders, and will make a final recommendation in 2018.

King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust: Finance

lord blencathra: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the personal liability of the board members of the Kings College Hospital Foundation Trust for their financial management of the Trust following that Trust having been put into special measures.

lord o'shaughnessy: Individual foundation trust board members do not have personal legal liability for the financial management of their trust, whether or not the trust is placed in Special Measures for Finance. Accountability arrangements are however in place. - Executive directors are accountable to the Chair and non-executive directors, and may be subject to action for poor performance or misconduct, including removal in appropriate cases, and the Chief Executive has specific responsibilities in their capacity as accounting officer; - Chair and non-executive directors are accountable to the council of governors, who have powers of removal in appropriate cases; - NHS Improvement has powers to require removal of board members where there are serious governance failings at a foundation trust, including financial governance; and - Board members who are registered professionals may also be liable to action by their professional regulatory body if they fail to comply with relevant professional standards.

NHS: Charities

lord brooke of alverthorpe: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to establish a new national NHS hospital charity to receive donations for supporting NHS hospitals.

lord brooke of alverthorpe: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to review the NHS policy of not providing patients with the cost of their hospital operations and treatments; and what assessment they have made of whether providing such information might encourage patients to make voluntary charitable contributions towards hospital costs.

lord brooke of alverthorpe: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to provide facilities for citizens to bequest charitable donations to NHS hospital charities.

lord o'shaughnessy: The Government has no plans to provide patients with the costs of their treatment in order to encourage charitable donations. There are no plans to establish a new National Health Service hospital charity. There are currently 253 NHS charities in England and Wales, which collectively hold £2.8 billion in assets and each provide public donation facilities. The public already give very generously to these with over £410 million income generated each year.

Social Services: Minimum Wage

baroness mcdonagh: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much is owed to social care workers for sleeping-in payments for the provision of statutory care that was commissioned by (1) government agencies, and (2) local authorities; and from what funds it is anticipated that those payments will be paid.

lord o'shaughnessy: The information requested is not held centrally. Social care is usually commissioned by local authorities but it can also be commissioned by the National Health Service or paid for by self-funding individuals.A piece of market analysis was commissioned over the summer to better understand the scale of the liabilities associated with sleep-in shifts.The Government is in the process of further refining this work to provide more robust information. The interim enforcement approach announced by the Government on 1 November is designed to maximise the prospects of workers being paid arrears owed to them as soon as possible, while at the same time protecting existing jobs. The Government recognises the pressures these liabilities are placing on providers of social care, and we are exploring options to minimise any impact on the sector.

NHS: Negligence

lord sharkey: To ask Her Majesty's Government, in each of the last five years, what was (1) the total provision made by NHS Resolution, and its predecessor bodies, against claims for clinical negligence, and (2) the total amount paid out in the settlement of claims for clinical negligence, broken down by legal costs and awards to claimants.

lord o'shaughnessy: NHS Resolution has provided the following information. The total provision made by NHS Resolution and its predecessor bodies against claims for clinical negligence and the total amount paid out in the settlement of claims for clinical negligence, broken down by legal costs and awards to claimants is shown in the attached tables due to the size of the data.



Clinical negligence settlement claims tables
(Word Document, 28.37 KB)

NHS: Negligence

lord sharkey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of recent rises in NHS Resolution's provision against claims for clinical negligence; what provision against claims for clinical negligence will be needed in each of the next three financial years; and what action they are taking to reduce the level of such provision.

lord o'shaughnessy: NHS Resolution’s provision for clinical negligence claims at 31 March 2017 was £64.7 billion. Recent rises in the provision are due to a number of factors including increases in the number of claims received, the amount of damages awarded, particularly in maternity claims and legal costs. This is also influenced by two discount rates: - The long term Public Expenditure System, set by HM Treasury, enabling a present value to be placed on future liabilities for accounting purposes but not affecting the costs of settling claims, changed from +2.2% to -0.8% from 31 March 2016, and increased the provision by £25.5 billion in 2015/16. - The personal injury discount rate (PIDR), set by the Lord Chancellor, places current value on future losses for settlement through lump sum payments, affecting the cost of settling claims. PIDR changed from +2.5% to -0.75% from 20 March 2017 and contributed £4.7 billion to the increase in the provision in 2016/17. The Government published draft legislation in September to reform the legal framework governing how the PIDR is set. The proposals will help ensure that claimants continue to receive full compensation but should significantly reduce overpayment by more reliably reflecting how awards are invested. Subject to its consideration of the Justice Select Committee’s pre-legislative scrutiny report and comments received from stakeholders on the draft legislation, the Government plans to introduce legislation to reform the law as soon as possible. The provision is calculated annually taking into account latest developments in the claims environment to inform assumptions about claims volumes, inflation in settlements and legal costs and time to settle claims. It is, therefore, not possible to provide an accurate provision for the next three years although it will continue to increase for some years to come for inflationary and other reasons. NHS Resolution manages the costs of claims appropriately, challenging claims without merit, excessive claims for damages and claimant legal costs. It works with trusts to help them understand their claims data to better assess where local interventions would have the greatest impact in reducing high volume or high cost claims, and shares learning and best practice from its analysis of claims. Its new strategy, Delivering fair resolution and learning from harm: Our strategy to 2022 gives it an enhanced focus on mediation, learning and prevention, as well as litigation, and it will deliver increased insight into what drives the costs of harm and work with others to develop interventions that improve safety and save money for the NHS, as demonstrated by its recent report Five years of cerebral palsy claims: A thematic review of NHS Resolution data. A copy of both documents is attached. Following recent reports by the National Audit Office and the Public Accounts Committee on clinical negligence costs, the Department is working with the Ministry of Justice, HM Treasury and NHS Resolution and others to develop a cross government strategy to reduce them. This work is supported by our pursuit of improved safety standards and a transparent, learning culture across the NHS.



Five years of cerebral palsy claims
(PDF Document, 1.93 MB)




Delivering fair resolution and learning from harm
(PDF Document, 9.6 MB)

Medical Records

lord warner: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord O'Shaughnessy on 27 November (HL3647), what guidance is available to patients on the most appropriate body to submit complaints to regarding denial of access to medical records; whether doctors are obliged to provide access to medical records if a complaint is upheld; and whether they have any plans to simplify the complaints process for patients who are denied access to their medical records.

lord o'shaughnessy: NHS Choices and the Information Commissioner provide online only guidance on making a complaint to the National Health Service about access to medical records. In addition, assistance may be provided locally by Patient Advice and Liaison Services and NHS Complaints Advocacy Services. If someone is unhappy with the outcome of their complaint to the NHS, they are able to take that complaint to the Health Service Commissioner and the Information Commissioner. Except in prescribed circumstances, organisations are obliged to provide patients with access to their medical records. Failure to do this is a breach of the Data Protection Act. Where individual doctors refuse to comply with an upheld complaint the matter should be referred to the relevant professional body. There are currently no plans to change current NHS complaints arrangements.

Dental Services: Negligence

lord colwyn: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the main causes of clinical negligence in NHS dental care in England.

lord o'shaughnessy: No such assessment has been made as the Department does not hold data on the causes of clinical negligence in National Health Service dental care.

Dental Services: Negligence

lord colwyn: To ask Her Majesty's Government what engagement they have had with dental stakeholders regarding the cost of professional indemnity insurance in relation to clinical negligence.

lord o'shaughnessy: Departmental Ministers and officials regularly meet with dental stakeholders to discuss expenses and other matters. Most recently, the Parliamentary under Secretary of State (Steve Brine MP) met with the British Dental Association (BDA), as the main representative body for the dental profession, on 28 November 2017 to discuss a range of issues, including professional indemnity insurance. Departmental officials also met with the BDA on 22 November 2017 to discuss professional indemnity insurance.

Four Seasons Health Care

lord myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they are in discussions with Four Seasons care homes to ensure that residents of its homes are not jeopardised by a failure of the company; and who is responsible for contingency planning in such a scenario.

lord o'shaughnessy: On 14 December Four Seasons and H/2 agreed a standstill agreement until 2 April 2018 to enable the restructuring negotiations to proceed.The Department has received updates from the Four Seasons Healthcare Group on the commercial situation.The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has been, and will continue to, monitor the situation with Four Seasons Healthcare Group through the Market Oversight scheme. Market Oversight is a statutory scheme, as set out in the Care Act 2014, through which the CQC assesses the financial sustainability of those care organisation that local authorities may find difficult to replace should they fail and become unable to carry on delivering services.The Care Act 2014 places temporary duties on local authorities to intervene to protect individuals where a care provider is no longer able to carry on because of business failure and services cease.In 2015, Local Government Implementation Unit, Local Government Association, Association Directors of Adult Social Services and the Department published guidance to local authorities on contingency planning for provider failure. The Government is continuing to work with local authorities to ensure they have effective and up-to-date contingency plans in place.

Social Services: Finance

lord porter of spalding: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they will take to meet the pressures on local authority children's services and adult social care identified by the Office for Budget Responsibility in its November 2017 Economic and Fiscal Outlook.

lord o'shaughnessy: The Department for Education (DfE) has responsibility for local authority children’s services. The Spending Review 2015 made available more than £200 billion to councils for local services (including children’s services) up to 2019-20. Local authorities (LAs) increased spending on children and young people’s services to around £9.2 billion in 2016-17. To help the children’s social care sector innovate and re-design service delivery to achieve high quality and value for money, DfE has invested £200 million since 2014 in its Innovation Programme and Partners in Practice Programme. As part of this, DfE have committed £20 million to provide additional support to LAs where the risk of service failure is highest. At the 2017 spring budget the Chancellor announced an additional £2 billion will be given to councils over the next three years for adult social care. This meant that, by the start of this financial year, the Government had given councils access to £9.25 billion more dedicated funding for adult social care over the next three years. The 2017 autumn Budget has provided an additional £42 million for the Disabled Facilities Grant for the rest of the 2017-18 financial year, taking funding for this year to £473 million.

NHS: Greater London

lord warner: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will specify for each NHS Provider trust in Greater London the capital receipts they have generated from the sale of land in each of the last two financial years, and in the current financial year.

lord o'shaughnessy: NHS Digital collect data from National Health Service trusts and foundations trusts regarding their surplus land. The 2015-16 and 2016-17 Surplus Land Collection reports show that in the last two financial years, NHS trusts and foundation trusts in London have generated just over £95 million from the sale of surplus land, shown in the following table. These disposals were identified by the trusts as non-sensitive and therefore published. Year of saleNHS trust (on publication date)Total sold -receipt value2015-16Barts Health NHS Trust£49,600,0002015-16Guy’s and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust£954,3602015-16London North West Healthcare NHS Trust£780,0002015-16South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust£9,000,0002016-17Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust£8,037,5002016-17Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust£905,1702016-17Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust£9,450,0002016-17South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust£4,655,0002016-17University College London NHS Foundation Trust£11,900,000 Total£95,282,030

Health Services

lord browne of belmont: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to expand health service capacity in areas of expected high population growth.

lord o'shaughnessy: The allocation of funding to local clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) is informed by the estimation of the relative health needs of local areas, based on a set of funding formulae. This formula is based on an assessment of factors such as demography, morbidity, deprivation, and the cost of providing services in different areas. The populations used in the funding formula for each CCG are projected forward at CCG level for each year 2016-17 to 2020-21, based on Office for National Statistics’ population projections. In 2016, NHS England also established a national Demand and Capacity programme to support the NHS to better understand demand and plan sufficient capacity, so that patients do not wait unnecessarily for treatment. The programme is jointly sponsored by NHS England and NHS Improvement.

NHS: Negligence

lord colwyn: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they plan to publish a response to the consultation on fixed recoverable costs for clinical negligence claims.

lord o'shaughnessy: In January 2017 the Department launched a consultation on proposals to fix or limit the costs recoverable by claimant lawyers in lower value clinical negligence cases. The Department published a holding response to the consultation on 25 July 2017, so as to allow the Department time to reflect the recommendations made by the Right Honourable Lord Justice Jackson following his review in to fixed costs, published on 31 July. Lord Justice Jackson’s report includes a recommendation for the Civil Justice Council and the Government to set up a working party to develop a new process for clinical negligence initially up to £25,000 alongside new fixed costs. Departmental Ministers have agreed with this recommendation, as referenced in the recent Public Accounts Committee on 29 November 2017 and the Department is now preparing the final response to the consultation for publication. The publication dates will be decided according to standard Government processes.